Summary: Autophagy and amino acid homeostasis are required
for chronological longevity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Ashley L. Alvers,* Laura K. Fishwick,
Michael S. Wood, Doreen Hu, Hye S. Chung,
William A. Dunn Jr and John P. Aris
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Health Science Center,
University of Florida, 1600 SW Archer Road, Gainesville, FL
32610-0235, USA
Summary
Following cessation of growth, yeast cells remain viable
in a nondividing state for a period of time known as
the chronological lifespan (CLS). Autophagy is a degra-
dative process responsible for amino acid recycling in
response to nitrogen starvation and amino acid
limitation. We have investigated the role of autophagy
during chronological aging of yeast grown in glucose
minimal media containing different supplemental essen-
tial and nonessential amino acids. Deletion of ATG1 or
ATG7, both of which are required for autophagy,
reduced CLS, whereas deletion of ATG11, which is